Chapter 31

As they walked, using the light of the splendid chandeliers as their guide, the Crown Prince casually asked,

“Which room have you been assigned? The Swanell Annex Palace? Or the Estelle Annex Palace?”

The Estelle Annex Palace was the second residence for the summer social season, and the one the Crown Prince usually preferred.

Beyond the lake where Swanell Annex Palace stood, across the rose garden and up a slight hill.

It was a beautiful annex palace decorated with the traces of a fallen star as its motif, but every lady assigned a room there swallowed a quiet disappointment.

The reason was that Grand Duke Eponhart was at Swanell Annex Palace.

Charlotte, by contrast, was sincerely relieved to have been assigned to Estelle Annex Palace.

“The Estelle Annex Palace.”

The Crown Prince could not hide his pleasure.

He cleared his throat softly and then added, as though by chance,

“Then we are in the same place. If you draw back the terrace curtains, you will see armfuls of beautiful summer roses in bloom.”

When Charlotte and the Crown Prince entered the ballroom together, a sudden hush fell over the disorderly hall.

People noticed that Charlotte looked little different from when she had left, and tilted their heads.

“Why are those two coming in together?”

“Surely the Crown Prince did not steal away Grand Duke Eponhart’s prey?”

The gentlemen’s eyes flashed.

A woman seized by Grand Duke Eponhart was out of reach, but if it was the Crown Prince, that was another matter.

They set down their repeatedly emptied champagne glasses and ran hands through their disordered forelocks.

More than half were drunk, their faces flushed red and their eyes unfocused.

“You are beautiful, My Lady. It is our first meeting. I am Charles Pedleton, second son of the House of Viscount Pedleton.”

“I am Andrew Wins, third son of the House of Earl Wins.”

Drunken men all at once thr*st out their hands toward Charlotte.

Charlotte did not take any of their hands, but she memorized their names.

The House of Viscount Pedleton was famous for the textile trade, but even more so for the debauchery of its heir and father.

The House of Earl Wins had amassed great wealth through transport, but having recently failed to win the contract for the railway project crossing the continent, it was certain to be on the decline soon.

She analyzed each name clearly, one by one.

All the while still holding the Crown Prince’s hand.

For the first time in some while, the Crown Prince’s chest broadened with pride.

He gave a slight lift of his shoulders, feeling as though he had become a knight guarding a princess, and blocked the gentlemen’s approach.

Then, as if he were her guardian, he began to speak in her defense.

Charlotte quietly stayed behind him, observing the situation.

Now that Grand Duke Eponhart was absent, this was her chance.

Just then, a man came up behind her and offered a greeting.

“My Lady, I am Wilsingham Bruce, second son of Baron Bruce. There is a quiet seat over there. Shall I show you?”

Charlotte’s ears pricked.

‘Baron Bruce… that is the family that handles Maclean’s jewel distribution. And they also have much exchange with Neuropia. In that case….’

Thinking of the fiancé whose face she did not even know, Charlotte discreetly released the Crown Prince’s hand she had been holding.

Then she touched her forehead as though dizzy.

“I’m sorry, I feel a little faint. May I trouble you?”

At her tone, devoid of any coquetry, the men’s hearts stirred.

They had thought a woman so stiff and composed would not be to their taste.

Now they realized that their taste itself had been wrong from the ground up.

The Crown Prince brought his suddenly empty hand back to the handle of his cane.

He was relieved to know she had not let go on purpose, and yet he could not help but feel disappointed at losing her hand.

By contrast, Wilsingham Bruce, having unexpectedly seized a stroke of luck, moved with light, bouncing steps.

Charlotte followed him and sat leaning against a sofa set inside the ballroom, but unfortunately she could not remain in peace.

Men filled every side of her, all wanting to say even a word to her.

“My Lady, what are your plans tomorrow? Perhaps we might share tea….”

“Weren’t you the one excited only a little while ago about going on a new hunt tomorrow? My Lady, I know of a secret garden….”

Charlotte did not answer even once, nor did she let a single trace of a smile slip out. Even so, the meaningless conversation showed no sign of ending all through the night.

The stale smell of alcohol. The artificial perfume carrying the scent of men.

The smell of money seeping from expensive suits and accessories.

A stench fouler than manure in a kitchen garden filled the space. She barely suppressed the nausea rising in her throat and remained in place like a doll.

***

“Marcus.”

Marcus, who had been sleeping curled up on the sofa, sprang upright in alarm.

There was something unusual about his master’s voice. Feeling a sudden chill, he rubbed the back of his neck.

Rolling his eyes, Marcus went over his recent actions one by one. He had made no mistakes lately and committed no offense, so he had no idea why that voice sounded like that.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke. What brings you here at this hour……?”

This was the office of Grand Duke Eponhart in the center of the capital, but while the Grand Duke was participating in the summer social season, it had been little different from Marcus’s hideout.

‘I knew he would come sooner or later, but to think he’d show up at dawn on the very first day of the social season……’

Without even turning on the office lights, Grand Duke Eponhart dropped heavily into his seat. A disjointed remark flowed from his lips.

“I found her.”

“Pardon? Found what……?”

The Grand Duke answered a half beat late.

“Mary Robinson.”

The moment he heard that dreadful name, Marcus’s mind went blank.

Blinking stupidly, he asked in a dazed voice,

“Where?”

“Swanell Palace.”

“Whaaat?!!”

Marcus literally jumped up. To think the woman they had not been able to find even after combing through all of Westden had been found in the Imperial Palace.

He hurried right up to the Grand Duke’s desk and asked,

“Did she get a job there as a palace attendant?”

“No.”

“Surely not, is she a noblewoman?”

Christian gave a slight nod. A thin crack formed between his neatly set brows.

“Roimond. Charlotte Roimond was Mary Robinson.”

Marcus doubted his ears. He was about to mutter what kind of nonsense that was, but clamped his mouth shut.

His master’s gaze was far from ordinary. If he pushed back carelessly right now, it seemed things would not end with something as mild as a broken shinbone.

“Tell me everything you know about Roimond.”

Marcus hurriedly pulled himself together and scraped together every bit of information he had in his head about Roimond.